Combined gas and air engine.



V. H. PALM.

COMBINED GAS AND AIR ENGlNE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1915.

Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

R O T N E V N WITNESSES I V. H. PALM.

COMBINED GAS AND AIR ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1915.

Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

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VICTOR H. PALM, OF BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA COMBINED GAS AND AIR ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

Application filed May 18, 1915. Serial No. 28,963.

To all whom it may concern: Q

Be it known that 1, VICTOR HwPALM, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Butler, in the county of Butler and State of Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Gas andAir Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The primary object of this invention is to so construct and arrange agas engine as to cause it to operate simultaneously as an explosivemotor and as an air compressor, with provision for utilizing thecompressed air for reversing the engine. pressed air may be used fordriving the engine for limited periods of time, and if desired may beutilized alternately with the gas for propelling the 'same, as forinstance in Well drilling operations wherein the compressed air' isavailable for accelerating the engine during the down-strokes of thetools, and the gas for the slower up-strokes.

The invention is preferably embodied in a single-acting gas engine offour-cycle type, the end of the cylinder opposite the chargereceivingand exploding end being adapted to operate as anair compressor or toremain idle when the engine is running as may be desired, and with meansfor admitting the air thus compressed to the cylin der for reversing theposition of the piston, or for supplying the motive fluid for drivingthe engine, as the case may be. The invention includes efficient devicesof improved construction for controlling the several operations and forchanging from one to another operation, the several mechanisms being soarranged that the compressed air actuation is available regardless ofthe direction in which the engine is running at the time the air isavailed of.

A further object is to provide mechanism of improved construction forreversing the machine when operating as a gas engine, provision beinghad for holding the cylinder exhaust open during the reversing operationto forestall premature explosions within the cylinder.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are elevations of oppositesides of an engine constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 3is a sectional plan of the engine cylinder taken on line 3-3 of Fig.4,

and Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the cylinder ports taken online 4:4: of Fig.3., Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-section on line 5- 5 Thecomof Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail of a portion of the reversing rod. Fig.7 is a detail of the cams and shaft for operating the air port valves ofthe cylinder.

Referring to the drawings, 2 designates an engine bed. and 3 is theengine cylinder mounted thereon.

1 is the piston, and 5 the piston rod, the latter being operativelyconnected to the engine crank-shaft 6 in the usual manner.

The cylinder is adapted to operate at end A as an explosive engine andat the opposite end B as an air compressor. Connected to end A is thefuel inlet valve 7, held normally closed by coiled springs 7' andadapted toadmit air and gas from a mixer-8 of usual construction, thegas entering the mixer through channels 9 from supply pipe 10, and theair through openings 8' in mixer 8. Opposite the fuel-admitting valve?is theexhaust valve 11 which is mounted on the .end of stem 12, a spring12' holding the valve normally closed. The outer portion of stem 7 ismovable in the forked guide 13. Valves 7' and 11 both open inwardly asshown, and preferably both valves are arranged at the same side of thecylinder. The opposite side of the cylinder is constructed in much thesame manner as a conventional steam engine cylinder, the cylinder wallbeing ported longitudinally at 15 from cylindelendA and at 16 from endB, With said ports opening into the air chest 17 at opposite sides ofexhaust port 18, a conventional slide valve 19 being arranged in thechest and being operated in the usual manner by rod 20. A spring 19holds the valve normally seated. Port 15 is normally closed by theinwardly opening valve 21 mounted on the stem 22. An inwardly openingcheck valve 23 is adapted to place port 16 in communication with theatmosphere, the valve being carried and held normally closed by stem,24:. A hand-operated shaft 25 is provided with cams 22 and 24 for valvestems 22 and 2 1, respectively, whereby valves 21 and 23 may be openedfor the purposes hereinafter described. Chest 17 is in communicationthrough pipe 30 with an air receiver "31,- and the latter may in turn bein communication through valve 32 with the supplemental air receiver orholder 33. The air chest exhaust port 18 is provided with theoutlet pipe34. The passage of air through pipe 30 is controlled by check valve 35which is adapted to open. away from chest 17 and toward receiver 31, andthe exvalve 36 which opens toward exhaust port 1.8. Valves 35 and 36 arepreferably arranged adjacent each other and in horizontal line and withtheir respective stems extending toward each other, whereby one oranother of the two cams 37 on the reciprocating hand-operated shiftingrod 38 may be utilized for opening both valves by simply turningthe'rod, as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The mechanism for reversing the operation of the product exhaust valve11 is most clearly shown in Fig. 2, and consists of a carrier -10adapted to swing vertically on shaft 41, the latter being geared at 12to the engine shaft 6. At the outer end of carrier 4:0 is the roundedT-like bar 13 which is adapted to be moved vertically by carrier 40 inthe forked valve stem guide 13, Fig. 3. Mounted on carrier 40 andadapted to re eiprocate through'opposite ends of bar 43 are thespring-retracted rods 14; and 45, respectively, one or the other ofwhich is adapted to be placed in alinement with the stem 12 of valve 11.That portion of the outer face of bar -13 located between rods 44 and 45is rounded outwardly as shown at 43 to move the valve stem and openvalve 12 whenever the mechanism is being shifted, so that a prematureexplosion cannot occur in the cylinderduring the shifting operation;Cams 44 and 45 on shaft 11 are so positioned as to properly time theoperation of the valve opening rods 44 and 15, respectively. Carrier 40is connected by bell-crank 16 with the shifting or reversing rod 38,whereby longitudinal movement of the rod in one direction or the otheris adapted to so change the operation of valve 11 as to accommodate itto a reverse operation of the engine. Stem 20 of the air chest slidevalve 19 is adapted to be reversed by the link mechanism 50, Fig. 1, theconstruction and operation of which are fully shown and de scribed inLetters Patent to George Palm, No. 618,433, January 31, 1899. The linkmechanism 50 is connected by a bell-crank 51 with shifting rod 38,whereby the same motion of the latter that shifts the inecha- .may beoperated in any desiredmanner.

; l l hen operating under explosion impulses,

' the charges are drawn into end A of the (liylinder through valve 7 inthe usual manner and the products of combustion are exhausted throughvalve 11 which is timed toopen immediately following the explosionstroke of the piston. At such time valve 21 is closed and port 15 iswholly inactive. And at such time, if valve 23 is held open by cam 21the operation will not be difierent from'that of the ordinary gasengine. But with valve 23 free to operate as a check valve, it will openunder the suction influence of piston 4 moving. toward end A of thecylinder, and the charge of air thus drawn into end B will be forcedthrough ports 16 into air-chest 17 and from the latter through pipe 30and past check valve 35 into receiver 31. And this operation will ensueregardless of the position of slide valve 19, for if the latter happensto be covering port 16, the air will simply push the valve away from itsseat and pass into chest 17. If the engine is to be reversed, shaft 25is manipulated to place cam 22 in position to hold valve 21 open and atthe same time rod 38 is turned to cause one or the other of cams 37 toopen valves 35 and 36, whereupon air is passed from receiver 31 to airchest 17 through pipe 30, and the exhaust from port 18 escapes throughpipe 34: the action then being substantially the same as a steam engine.Of course the air pressure in end A. of the cylinder pre ents valve 7from opening and no explosion charges are admitted so long as the engineis being operated by air pressure. F or stop ping the engine withoutshutting off the supply of gas or compressed air, it is only necessaryto move rod 38 to an intermediate position, thereby stopping slide valve19 over ports 15, 16 and 18 and holding valve 11 open by the projectingportion 13 of head 43.

While the improved engine is adapted to be variously employed, it isdesigned primarily for use in the oil fields, the compressed airadjuncts providing ready means for reversing the gas engine and thusrendering it as available for well drilling operations as the almostuniversally used steam engine. Also, the engine operating as acompressed air motor may be variously used in well drilling operations.For instance, the'retardingeffect resulting from the air compressingoperation will cushion the engine as the well tools approach the upwardlimit'of their movement in the well, and then by turning rod 38, inletand exhaust valves 35 and 36, respectively, are opened and thecompressed air thus admitted to and exhausted from end B of the cylinderincreases or accelerates the speed of the engine over that attainablefrom explosions alone in end A, thereby permitting the engine to speedup or race during the downward stroke of the tool, a desirable featureof drilling that is usual when working with a steam engine,

meaeva but not possible with the ordinary gas engine which runs atrelatively constant speed. As herein disclosed, only manually operatedmeans is provided for shifting rod 38, which necessitates handmanipulation thereof at the beginning and completion of each downstroketo secure the advantage of the described operation. But it will beunderstood the invention is not restricted to any particular means foroperating rod 38.

The compressed air may be variou sly stored, the invention not beingconfined to ing the exhaust valve, the cylinder having ports leading toopposite ends thereof, a. source of ccmpressed air, a valve forcontrolling the passage of air to and from said ports, meansforreversing said valve, and means common to the exhaust'valve actuatingmechanism and to said air valve reversing means for reversing the formerand shifting the latter.

2. The combination of a gas engine cylinder and piston, a fuel inletvalve and an exhaust valve for the cylinder, the cylinder having portsleadingto opposite ends thereof, an air chest with which said portscommunicate, an exhaust port for the air chest, a valve for controllingthe air chest ports, a normally closed valve adapted when open /to admitair to the air chest, a normally closed valve for the chest exhaustport, and means for opening said normally closed valves.

3. The combination of an engine cylinder and piston, a fuel inlet valveand an exhaust valve for one end of the cylinder,an air chest and portsextending therefrom to 0p posite ends of. the cylinder, a normallyclosed valve controlling the port extending to the fuel-receiving end ofthe cylinder, a normally closed air inlet valve for the opposite end ofthe cylinder, anexhaust port for the. air chest and a valve forcontrolling communication between said exhaust port and the respectiveports leading to opposite ends of the cylinder, a compressed airreceiver adapted to ccmmunicate with the air chest, a normally closedvalve controlling said communication and adapted to open-toward thereceiver, anormally closed valve for the .air chest exhaust port adaptedto open toward the chest, and means for opening said last two mentionedvalves.

4. The combination of an engine cylinder and piston, an air chest inported communication with opp'osite ends of the cylinder,

an exhaust port for the air chest, a valve within the air chest andcontrolling communication between said exhaust port and the respectiveports leading to opposite ends of the cylinder, a compressed air inletfor the ai-rchest, normally closed valves for said inlet port and forthe air chest exhaust port, means common tosaid valves for holding themopen,'and a fuel inlet valve and an exhaust valve for one end of thecylinder. 5. The combination of an engine cylinder and piston, a fuelinlet valve for the cylinder, an exhaust valve for the cylinder, a

carrier, two reversely-acting exhaust valveactuating devices mounted onthe carrier, and means for shiftlng the carrier to place elther of saiddevices 1n operative relatlon with the exhaust valve.

6. The combination of an engine cylinder and piston, a fuel inlet valvefor the cylinder,'a spring-closed. exhaust valve for the cylinder, tworeversely-operating actuating devices for the exhaust valve, a carrieradapted to move either of said devices into operative relation with theexhaust valve, means, actuated by the carrier for holding the exhaustvalve open when shifting said devices, and carrier moving means.

7. The combination of an explosive engine cylinder and piston,mechanisms for causing the same to operate as an explosive engine, acompressed air receiver in controlled communication with the cylinder,means for causing the cylinder and piston to operate as an aircompressor for charging the receiver Without interfering with theiroperation as an explosive engine, and

means for passing compressed air from the receiver to opposite ends ofthe cylinder for actuating the piston by air pressure alone.

8. The combination of an explosive engine cylinder and piston, fuelinlet and exhaust valves for the cylinder,'a rotatable engine reversingrod, means connected to and actuated by said rod for reversing thedirection of the engine, the rod being movable longitudinally into twodifferent positions and being in one or the other of said positionsdetermined by the direction of motion of the engine, two cams spacedapart on said rod, the cylinder ported for the passage of air to andfrom opposite ends thereof, an air chest with which said portscommunicate, the air chest having an exhaust port and an exhaust pipeleading from the port. a slide valve in the air chest for controllingthe" ports in communication therewith, a pipe for admitting compressedair to the 1 air chest, and a. valve in said, air inlet pipe'and Ianother valve in the exhaust pipe With said valves normally closed andarranged adjacent each other, the engine reversing rod extending betweensaid valves with one or the other of the cams carried thereby adapted tocooperate with and open both of said valves upon rotating the rod.

9. The combination of an explosive engine cylinder and piston, thecylinder ported for admitting and exhausting compressed air, a gasadmission and an exhaust valve, actuating means to which the exhaustvalve is operatively connected for holding the latter open, a valve forcontrolling the aission 'theflast named valve and said actuating meanswhereby both the explosion and the air-pressure operations of the engineare under the control of the same actuating means.

-In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VICTOR H. PALM.

Witnesses:

S. ORAM, FLOYD G. PALM.

